‘Deeply concerned’: BCCI confirms Indian team review after consecutive series losses in Ireland & England originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- BCCI confirms formal review after India’s second straight T20I series loss.
- India suffer historic 3-0 series defeat to England, first-ever such loss.
- Assistant coach Ten Doeschate defends Iyer, urges mentality shift for overseas success.
BCCI orders review as India’s T20 slide deepens
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced plans to formally review the national side’s performances once the ongoing England series wraps up, with board secretary Devajit Saikia openly admitting the organisation remains “deeply concerned” by the team’s alarming downturn in T20 cricket.
Shreyas Iyer’s side suffered their third straight loss to England at Bristol’s County Ground on Thursday, handing the hosts an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
This defeat compounds an already difficult month, coming right after a stunning 2-0 series whitewash against Ireland. For a team that had entered this tour riding a streak of 16 consecutive T20I series wins as reigning World Cup champions, this represents a significant and unexpected reversal of fortunes.
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Notably, this marks the first time since February 2019 that India have lost back-to-back bilateral series, with the previous instance seeing them fall 2-1 in New Zealand before a 2-0 home defeat to Australia.
Speaking to India Today, Saikia confirmed that the board intends to sit down with the captain and coaching staff once the series concludes to identify exactly where things have gone wrong.
“We are deeply concerned about the Indian team’s performance, and once this series is over we will definitely have a review with the captain and coach to understand what is going wrong and will rectify the problems soon so we can regain our stature,” he said.
BCCI/Creimas
A transition that went horribly wrong for India
What was supposed to be a smooth transitional phase for a young squad, fresh off winning back-to-back home T20 World Cup titles in March, has instead turned into a harsh wake-up call. India have now lost five of their last six T20I matches.
Conditions in England have only compounded the struggles as a record 125-run defeat in Nottingham saw India bowled out for just 76 by Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
While in Bristol, a modest total of 158 for 7 proved no match for Harry Brook’s blistering unbeaten 79 off 35 balls, which fired England to a nine-wicket win inside 14 overs.
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The consequences extend beyond the series scoreline too, with India’s long-held number one T20I ranking, held since February 2022, now under genuine threat, just one further defeat away from being surrendered.
This series also marked a first for England, who had never previously won a bilateral T20I series against India spanning two or more matches. India had actually won five of their previous six series meetings between the sides.
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BCCI/Creimas
Ryan ten Doeschate talks of a bigger mentality shift
Ten Doeschate emphasised that the squad’s real challenge now lies in accepting their underperformance in unfamiliar overseas conditions rather than leaning on the comfort of home advantage.
“Psychologically and mentally the challenge for the group is to accept the fact that we are underachieving in foreign conditions and tell the players look there is a big prize two years down the line in Australia,” he said.
MORE: Has India ever lost back-to-back T20I series?
“Do we want be a team that smashes 250 in India and looks great hitting 80m six at Eden Gardens or do you want to come to places like Manchester, Southampton where things are slightly different and further down the line the MCG.
“Those were the places do we want to be the team to excel in different conditions and do we have the mentality to make those adjustments. That’s the mental challenge and that’s we need the players to take that on.”
India will next look to avoid a series whitewash when they face England in the fifth and final T20I in Southampton on Saturday.
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